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A Democratic representative has publicly called for the ex-royal Andrew Windsor to appear before the US House of Representatives committee that is currently conducting an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Epstein case.

Bipartisan Pressure for Testimony

The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative who serves on the House oversight committee, comes after a British trade official, Chris Bryant, indicated that since Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his royal status, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who took his own life while in government custody six years ago.

“Just as with any regular citizen, if there were formal requests from overseas of this kind, I would expect any reasonable individual to honor that request,” the minister said.

Khanna commented: “Andrew should be called to testify before the investigative committee. The public deserves to know who was exploiting women and minors alongside Epstein.”

Partisan Landscape and Investigation Progress

GOP members hold the majority in the House of Representatives, but following public pressure over former President Trump’s management of the Epstein case authorized an investigation by the House committee into how the government handled his prosecutions. Interest in the case surged in July, after the justice department revealed that a widely speculated list of Epstein’s sex trafficking clients did not exist, and it would share nothing further on the case.

The congressional probe has thus far resulted in the release of tens of thousands of pages – including a lewd drawing reportedly drawn by Trump for Epstein’s birthday – as well as depositions from ex-government leaders.

Legal Efforts and Obstacles

As a member of the minority, Khanna does not have the power to subpoena the former prince’s appearance. Representatives for the committee’s Republican chair, Chairman Comer, did not respond to questions about whether he thinks the former prince should be questioned.

Khanna and Republican Congressman Massie have proposed legislation to mandate the disclosure of Epstein-related documents, but House Speaker Johnson, a key presidential supporter, has blocked a vote on it. Massie and Khanna have distributed a petition that will force a vote on the bill, if a majority of representatives sign it.

“This is what my effort with Congressman Massie has been about: openness and justice for the victims who have been bravely sharing their stories,” the lawmaker said.

The petition has been signed by all 213 House Democrats, as well as four GOP members. The final required signature is expected to be Representative-elect Grijalva, who was elected in the state of Arizona last month, and awaits inauguration by Johnson. However, the speaker has refused to do so until the House comes back into session, and says he will not tell representatives to come back to the capital until the Senate approves a bill to resolve the federal shutdown.